Welp, today is Mardi Gras and I am raising a glass to toast Sazerac and NOLA because they are not letting a pandemic shut down a centuries-old tradition. NOLA! Things are looking a little different this year for sure, but nothing stops Mardi Gras! It’s gonna be a cold day in NOLA today.  There will be no parade floats and there will be no overflowing crowds lining the streets all over the city dancing for beads. The bars are ordered to be closed. Krewes will still have their celebrations but the parties will tend to be more private.

That sounds depressing, but people are very creative and I have little doubt that people will still find a way to celebrate Mardi Gras in grand style.

The Darling of Mardi Gras

Though there will be more private parties this year and in observance of Mardi Gras, the drinks will still flow as they’ve done since forever in celebration of the end of Carnival although much of it will be carry-out. 

Carry-out, dine in, drink in, or at home, New Orleans has a proud reputation for interesting cocktails. Many of these iconic drinks; Sazerac, King Cake shots, Ramos Gin Fizz and Frozen Milk Punch, one of my favorites, to name a few, have been around for many decades but, during the season of Carnival and Mardi Gras is when they take center stage. But, of all these cocktails, the Sazerac wears the crown as the official drink of New Orleans and the darling of Mardi Gras.

Sazerac was made popular around 1830 and then went through a period of evolutionary rejiggering. A cognac shortage in France made it necessary to substitute with rye and then the banning of  absinthe, as a poison, was replaced with Herbsaint. Sazerac finally found its groove and in 2008, the Sazerac took its place as the official cocktail.

 I use the recipe for Sazerac from Liquor.com.  There’s also a little interesting history about the drink and alternative Sazerac recipes at Liquor.com.